Man City and Man United account for nearly half of total Premier League summer spending on players in 2016

Man City and Man United have accounted for almost half of the total transfer spending in the Premier League this summer, as a recent study reveals the two rivals have forked out an eye-watering £322m on players since the end of last season.

The figures from spread-betting company Spreadex.com also show that Man City – who bolstered their squad this week with the addition of Everton’s John Stones – have spent 42% of their annual income in the last three months alone, while United’s world record fee for Paul Pogba pushed their summer outlay up to the equivalent of 40% of turnover.

The transfer fees shelled out this summer also show that the Premier League's ‘Big Six’ – Man City, Man United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs – have spent £529m on players, around twice as much as the rest of the league (£265m) combined.

The data, which looked at the summer spending of all 20 Premier League sides, found that only four clubs were in profit on their summer transfer dealings, with Southampton, Everton, Swansea and Hull in the black on business conducted since May.

It has also emerged that only a further four teams – Burnley, Leicester, Sunderland and West Brom - have a net transfer spend of less than 10% of revenue over the summer break.

Earlier today, former QPR and Crystal Palace manager Neil Warnock spoke out about the 'scandalous' fees exchanging hands between English clubs during the summer months.

For more information about Spreadex visit www.sports.spreadex.com